Foreign Direct Investment and Human Rights: A Look at Labor and Women's Rights Open Access

Abstract

The influence of international investment on human rights has grown increasingly important with the rise of globalization and the emergence of significant global economic interaction. This paper seeks to explore the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and collective labor rights as well as women's rights, two significant rights that remain underdeveloped in the literature on investment and human rights. Drawing on previous theory and literature, I hypothesize that the influence of FDI on labor rights and women's rights varies across sectors (primary, secondary, or service). To test these hypotheses, I utilize a cross-sectional time series design with updated FDI data broken down by industry as well as multiple measures of labor and women's rights. My findings show that FDI has a significant influence on labor rights, dependent on sector and thus supports previous research in the area of FDI and labor rights. However, my results for the relationship between sectoral FDI and women's rights are less conclusive, and both my analyses would benefit from more extensive data, suggesting future scholars may build upon my findings as data becomes more available.

Table of Contents

I. Table of Contents

II. Introduction...............................................................................................................................1 III. Theory and Literature.................................................................................................................2

A. Determinants of FDI and the Case for Sectors.........................................................................3

B. Labor Rights and FDI...........................................................................................................7 C. Women's Rights and FDI......................................................................................................12 D. Hypotheses........................................................................................................................15 IV. Data and Methods.......................................................................................................................17 A. Dependent Variables............................................................................................................17

i. Human Rights..............................................................................................................17

ii. Labor Rights...............................................................................................................18

iii. Woman's Rights..........................................................................................................19

B. Independent Variable...........................................................................................................19 C. Control Variables.................................................................................................................21 V. Results and Discussion..................................................................................................................24

A. Human Rights and FDI Results...............................................................................................25

TABLE 1. Selected Coefficients from Human Rights Regressions (US BEA)...............................26

TABLE 2. Selected Coefficients from Human Rights Regressions (UNCTAD)..............................26

B. Labor Rights and FDI Results.................................................................................................27

TABLE 3. Selected Coefficients from Labor Rights Regressions: FDI Sectors (US BEA)...............28

TABLE 4. Selected Coefficients from Labor Rights Regressions: FDI Sectors (UNCTAD)..............30

C. Women's Rights and FDI Results............................................................................................32

TABLE 5. Selected Coefficients from Women's Rights Regressions: FDI Sectors (US BEA)..........34

TABLE 6. Selected Coefficients from Women's Rights Regressions: FDI Sectors (UNCTAD).................35

VI. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................37 VII. References...............................................................................................................................44 VIII. Appendices..............................................................................................................................48

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Political Science
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Political Science, General
Keyword	Women's rights Human rights Foreign Direct Investment Labor rights
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Davis III, David, Emory University
Committee Members	Queen II, Edward L, Emory University Reinhardt, Eric, Emory University

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